Jewelry in 95 degrees

It may have been 95 degrees but I was out there at Pecan Street Festival trying on jewelry. The Gilded Giraffe was there with their shell and silver pieces. I had to buy the pearl earrings with silver beads imprinted with tiny dragonflies. Unfortunately, they don't have a Web site.

I also discovered Jessica Weiss from Knoxville. She does unusual, primarily dangling, earrings with stones. Her Web site is http://www.jessicaweissjewelry.com/ Don't be shocked...the designs on theWeb site are usually in 18K or 22K gold, that is, expensive. They run several hundred to several thousand dollars. But at Pecan Street she had silver and gold plate. A pair of earrings would run $30 - $80. Very delicate leaf shapes, branches or circles with turquoise, black onyx, pearls. She said you could order and she would ship, but the pieces at the show are not on the Web site. Don't know how that would work.

A similar look is Windy Mink http://www.wendyminkjewelry.com/ , a NYC jeweler who is featured in numerous magazines and occasionally on Gilt.com, the designer discount Web site. She has a sale going on right now on her blog.

The earrings at the top of this post are Windy Mink's.

Not your ordinary library

Last Sunday I visited Laura's Library, the new Westbank location on the southeast corner of Bee Caves and Cuernavaca. This is not what I was expecting! It is what you always dreamed a public library could be.

Lots of new titles.. books and CDs....and plenty of comfortable seating to browse. I checked out a set of CDs from The Great Courses on music theory. I had wanted to order it for some time but it is very expensive. Now I can enjoy it!

If you love to cook, they have a collection worthy of the best bookstore. It's not a big library but well chosen selections.

I especially love the nooks (some with leather chairs!) to read in a soothing atmosphere. And did I mention the views? Amazing. So comfortable and homey.... better than my home!

They are open M & T Noon-8, Wed-Fri 10-6, Sat 10-4, and Sun 1-6.

The real devil

I saw The September Issue last weekend. I loved it! It's a documentary about the production of the September issue of Vogue magazine, featuring Anna Wintour, of course. In case you don't know, The Devil Wears Prada was based on her and her role as editor of Vogue.

Loved seeing how they put together a large issue... behind the camera at photo shoots, discussions of photo quality, etc. And to top it off, when I got home The Devil Wears Prada was on TV!

Before I close, Victoria wants you to know that the service around here is deteriorating. She has always preferred her water straight from the bathroom faucet, but now she wants it from the tub faucet. I heard a meow echoing in the bathroom and found her in the tub looking longingly at the faucet.

But if it runs too fast, it gets her feet wet, which is a problem. And it's not easy to get a tub faucet to trickle just right. Only a cat owner could understand this!

Fly with Me!

There really are some good flight deals right now. But you have to act fast. I got three notices today, Tues., September 8, for deals that must be purchased by Thurs, September 10. Southwest has specials from Austin to Chicago for $99 each way, San Francisco $98, West Palm Beach $103 (& lots of other destinations).

Jet Blue has specials to Ft. Lauderdale for $89 each way, Orlando $89, and New York (JFK) $109.

Alaska Airlines has Austin to Seattle for $99 each way (& more deals).

Check back if you miss out on these deals (remember they expire 9-10). Travel is for the fall.

There are similar deals from San Antonio and Houston.